When is digital going to get the soul of music?

Hi Tubegroover ,
I'll give analog a "subtle"(but noticeable) edge in the realm of relaxation and sense of organic flow and ease. This advantage only applies to the very top set ups, as some analog front ends don't possess this same ability. I've heard some select digital front ends (certainly not all) that are exceptionally natural, realistic and with much emotion conveyed (better than some turntable sources with etched, bright and edgy cartridges). Massed string sections I'll defer to your experience.
Charles,

Kapa started an OP and asked for comments about this article. http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

The author says "[t]he BAS test I linked earlier mentions as an aside that the SACD version of a recording can sound substantially better than the CD release. **It's not because of increased sample rate or depth but because the SACD used a higher-quality master.** When bounced to a CD-R, the SACD version still sounds as good as the original SACD and better than the CD release **because the original audio used to make the SACD was better. Good production and mastering obviously contribute to the final quality of the music.**" (**Emphasis added**)

What else is there to say?????

Bifwynne, that is not always the case. I have redbook cd's that sound better than the same SACD's I have and I have SACD's that sound better than the redbook. It depends on who did the remastering as they all have an idea of what final sound they want.

You can compare the Redbook layer and the SACD layer on some hybrids where both layers were taken from the same source and done with the greatest possible care. I am thinking of Steve Hoffman's Creedence hybrids - the mastering engineer has gone on record as saying the source is identical. Can you hear the difference in your system?

Regards,

Ooh, Mapman, gonna have to disagree with you when you say in your last post - "Has nothing to do with getting the soul though." It has EVERYTHING to do with that, especially in large scale orchestral music, where there is such a HUGE range of different emotions expressed in say a lengthy Mahler symphony. It also has to do with the "low level detail" discussion we have been having on a different thread. A very great deal of the emotional subtleties are lost, since so much of the subtleties of the huge range of timbres are lost. That's not a well written sentence at all, LOL, but I think the point is nevertheless clear?